Should I cut or should I grow

[Snowlily]

No, not a hair oriented version of The Clash's song 'Should I stay or Should I Go' but....after a big 'shed' due to iron deficiency and stress, my hair is growing back nicely. Lots of new growth and lots that is about 5-6" long. Reluctantly, I had about 2" cut off in May for my sister's wedding but now my hair is currently at APL and rather rat tailed at the ends.... I am trying to grow it and trying to get to BSL. My question is, do I have a chop to collar bone length to let the new growth catch up or do I not cut it and grow it to BSL and then have regular trims aiming for catch up? The indecisiveness is driving me nuts haha so some wise advice from you guys would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

[Decoy24601]

You could microtrim while growing out :). That way you don't have to chop, but you can still grow out your hair while also letting the newer growth catch up.

[spidermom]

I have a similar dilemma. My father died last year and I was away from home dealing with probate stuff for 5 months. I experienced a lot of shedding, and now I have a 2nd frizzy hairdo ranging from 2 to 4 inches long sitting on top of my tailbone length hair. It looks so awful to me that sometimes I fantasize all the cute short cuts I could get that would make the regrow not so obvious.

[HairPlease]

If I were you I'd do a smaller chop than collarbone to start with. Cutting to CBL was a liberating experience for me - I did it to say goodbye to damage. I was almost at waist, but I had so much new growth and weird bits that it gave me a deep-v hemline which I wasn't a fan of. Interestingly, even though I lost well over a foot of hair, my hair doesn't "feel" any shorter.

Start small. If you're attached to your length and you feel that it looks decent and feels decent, don't do anything drastic! I like the idea of regular trims/microtrims to let things catch up. But if you're not in a big hurry to have longer locks, a cut feels pretty darn good, especially if you don't have emotional attachment to your hair.

[ReadingRenee]

Do you like to wear your hair up? If so, then you could just leave it and wear it up mostly until it gets to BSL and then slowly trim and maintain. Or if you like to wear your hair down and you want to enjoy thicker ends, you could trim it back to collarbone. I kind of wish I had done that for myself. I grew to BSL and then trimmed back to APL but it seems so frustrating to be in APL to BSL for years. I think it depends on what you want.

Good luck making the decision!

[lapushka]

No, not a hair oriented version of The Clash's song 'Should I stay or Should I Go' but....after a big 'shed' due to iron deficiency and stress, my hair is growing back nicely. Lots of new growth and lots that is about 5-6" long. Reluctantly, I had about 2" cut off in May for my sister's wedding but now my hair is currently at APL and rather rat tailed at the ends.... I am trying to grow it and trying to get to BSL. My question is, do I have a chop to collar bone length to let the new growth catch up or do I not cut it and grow it to BSL and then have regular trims aiming for catch up? The indecisiveness is driving me nuts haha so some wise advice from you guys would be much appreciated!

It doesn't look rat-tailed in your avatar. If that is something to go by, then I'd leave it as is, and grow out nice and slow.

[animetor7]

You could microtrim while growing out :). That way you don't have to chop, but you can still grow out your hair while also letting the newer growth catch up.

I agree with this. It's amazing what even an 1/8" or 1/4" trim can do for the feel of your ends. And that way you could refresh your ends while still gaining length and allowing new growth to catch up. Alternatively, you could maintain at APL for a while to wait for your new growth to catch up and to get rid of ends you're unhappy with. Whatever you do I'd baby the ends that feel dry to help them along. Good luck!! :)

[lithostoic]

I chopped to collarbone from BSL+ in December and don't regret it. Actually thinking of doing it again.

[OhSuzi]

Maybe best of both worlds with a lob? Sharp fresh new hair cut With the back as short as collar bone length and layered angling down toward the front to apl. Then let the angle straighten up as the collar bone length grows out and catches up?

[Mamabearme]

I'm with the others on microtrims. You'll still be making progress.

[Kat-Rinnè Naido]

I say if your ends are healthy then small trims would by best. I had terrible ends from neglect and major shed for what ever reason. I cut from below waist to bsl even though I don't regret doing so. It was years of growth wasted, which may have not been needed. Now I have Einstein hair on the top of my head from new growth. I am not sure how it is going to look in a few years but I am doing my best to keep my hair healthy. Not sure if this helps.

[Deborah]

It's all about how you feel about your hair. If it seems rat-tailed to you, then trim off an inch to give yourself fresh, even ends, and see if it makes you feel better. Then reassess.

In my opinion micro trimming is too slow to make you feel better now, and a big cut may not be needed. An inch off may be the jump start you need.

Best of luck with whatever you do! :flower:

[Snowlily]

Thank you all for your wisdom! It is much appreciated!!

I lost my dad this year in the same month as my gran and dog so super stressful. 6 months later life is starting to look up so I think I will get an appointment with my hairdresser to take 2" off...

Its just the eternal void of APL to BSL which is where I seem to be stuck...cut back...get just past APL...cut back ... On repeat for the past 6 years lol.../facepalm

[MidnightMoon]

Id just grow. Any cut will eventually end in a not so perfect hemline over the years, and since hair doesnt all grow at the same speed and last all the same... I believe it will be less noticeable over the years.

[spidermom]

Thank you all for your wisdom! It is much appreciated!!

I lost my dad this year in the same month as my gran and dog so super stressful. 6 months later life is starting to look up so I think I will get an appointment with my hairdresser to take 2" off...

Its just the eternal void of APL to BSL which is where I seem to be stuck...cut back...get just past APL...cut back ... On repeat for the past 6 years lol.../facepalm

Given this information, I say grow it with occasional trims of no more than 1 inch at a time. The ends don't look bad in your picture, and it sounds like you need to break out of a self-sabotaging pattern. You don't get long hair by continually cutting back.

By the way, I've decided to do the same with mine. I posed a recent picture in SEASONAL GROWTH PROJECT as well as my blog and got so many compliments that I saw my hair in a new light. All those shorter, curlier hairs give it such a soft appearance, like angel or fairy hair. I'm just going to trim it 1 inch or less every 3 months to keep the ends on the thicker and more even side. After classic length, I may just let it fairy tale into nothingness on the ends.

[lapushka]

Given this information, I say grow it with occasional trims of no more than 1 inch at a time. The ends don't look bad in your picture, and it sounds like you need to break out of a self-sabotaging pattern. You don't get long hair by continually cutting back.

Yes the ends are *perfect*, there is absolutely no need to trim it back. Knowing that, and knowing that you self-sabotage, should tell you enough. No trimming for you! :flower:

[Kajzh]

Maybe your ends feel ratty, but just don't look like it to outsiders? If that's the case, maybe try doing a protein treatment or hair mask on the bottom. Then you can more realistically assess your options.

[Capybara]

I'm of the "if they feel healthy and you can work with them, and you want the length, don't cut" opinion. If you prefer length over a blunt hemline, leaving it be is worth it. There is a lot of support for microtrimming over in this thread: http://forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=75468

I did a big cut a year ago and do not regret it at all, but I knew I wanted it. I wanted blunt ends and I wanted to grow out my bangs, and I did not want to have mid-length bangs and long lengths. However, I have chopped before and had instant regret. Blunt ends look beautiful, but they make my usual buns/braids more difficult.

Your hair does not look rat tailed to me, by the way!

[lora410]

Like most everyone said you self sabotage your hair. let it grow girl!!!! As you can clearly see in my siggy pict my ends aren't perfect and I dont care. I plan to keep growing away. unless my ends start having breakage I'm leaving them alone :)

[Snowlily]

thanks all - i have been TOLD! I guess I have been self-sabotaging my locks for a very long time and now its time to stop. Thank you ladies for pointing this out!

Time to leave my locks alone, put it up and forget about it until Winter Solstice.

;)

[spidermom]

thanks all - i have been TOLD! I guess I have been self-sabotaging my locks for a very long time and now its time to stop. Thank you ladies for pointing this out!

Time to leave my locks alone, put it up and forget about it until Winter Solstice.

;)

Sounds like a plan. Good for you!

[Greenfire]

thanks all - i have been TOLD! I guess I have been self-sabotaging my locks for a very long time and now its time to stop. Thank you ladies for pointing this out!

Time to leave my locks alone, put it up and forget about it until Winter Solstice.

;)

beware of microtrimming! Hair doesn't grow evenly, some parts grow faster than others, and if like me, your hair seems to be stuck at 1 length because you kept cutting it to be even, then yes, you were self sabotaging it. I joined the no trim group this year, and it has totally liberated me! Yes, my hair is uneven, but it's gone from BSL to just hitting waist. (at least a few of the wispy ends) since December, when I would have been stuck at BSL if I were microtrimming. I do an S&D every 2-3 months (more than that and I am too aggressive) and I think it's making a huge difference in my growth this year.

That baby hair will join the other hair, if you MUST cut, I would only cut it to make whatever shaped hemline you want to work with. I have a V shaped one, and with my wavy hair, I find it the most forgiving hemline for an uneven growth. (but it does make for more of a taper, similar to layers, though mine is also due to cutting off too many ends when S&ding) Im finding that the less often I cut my hair, the longer it gets, it's an epiphany! (you think that would be simply logical but apparently not)

I would trim my hair every time it looked like it needed it, which to me was always. I would sometimes trim only a couple of weeks apart, and because my hair grows unevenly, I might end up chopping an inch on one side just to even it up. Do that too often, and your hemline ends up growing upwards. This year has been eye opening for me, I really recommend no trimming to you if you're at all like me. The microtrims were a good idea when I had damage I was growing out (bleached hair) but once it was gone, I should immediately have joined into no trim, if just to cure me of the self sabotage with being far too aggressive in cutting. I'm thinking of doing it again next year, not sure at this point if I'll do a cut to work on losing the V hemline now that it's getting longer, but certainly I liked having the V as I was growing through the stages of awkwardness.

[Snowlily]

Thank you Greenfire for your post! Just what I needed to read.. and I am going to follow your lead. I too had bleach in my hair which was not only damaging, it was not the best colour either haha! A strawberry and blonde traffic cone isn't the best look....thank god for tomato ketchup to dampen the colours down a bit!!!..

So I grew it out - the last bits were cut off in May so I now have virgin hair. Just going to braid it and leave it alone....and hopefully in no time I will look like I came out of a Timotei advert from the 80s!

[Greenfire]

If it helps, once I stopped trimming, this is what my hair has done since December last year, December, July and today (braid waves make it look shorter, but stretched it's just hitting waist)

http://i.imgur.com/FtrHy2H.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/DJjJH9E.jpg

[jlau1827]

From personal experience, I decided to do a big chop, but looking back now, I think I would have preferred microtrims :)